Parallel
by LautnerGrint
Summary: The golden trio are in fact Muggles in this parallel universe, just (hopefully!) a fun twist when Ron and Hermione are left alone in the flat. Please review and check out my other stories, includes hints of Hinny.
1. Chapter 1

**The golden trio are in fact Muggles in this parallel universe, just (hopefully!) a fun twist. Reviews would be great and feel free to have a look at my other works too, thank you! Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

"I'm actually considering whether to swap you both for Ginny, honestly! She can be my flat mate instead, I bet she'd be a lot more tidier than you two," Hermione huffed, plucking one of Rons' crumpled red socks from the carpet and wrinkling her nose with disgust. Her mouth was set into a firm line and her chocolate brown eyes bore upon them sternly, almost as if she were scolding two young children that had misbehaved. She glared at Ron, awaiting an answer. Ron, however, just shook his head in disbelief, as if he couldn't quite believe she was prepared to argue over a sock - the stubborn side of her personality shining through in that moment. Harry shook his head and chuckled pulling on his jacket as he went, ruffling his already dishevelled hair in the mirror; his green eyes sparkled with anticipation as he turned towards the door.

"Speaking of Ginny, I'm off. I'll be back tomorrow... Please **try** not to kill each other while I'm gone." He winked at the pair and swiftly opened the door, stepping out into the cool night air. He hadn't seen Ginny since Sunday, 5 days ago and it was their 3 year anniversary. He wanted the night to be special.

"Oi! What about the bloody washing up, Harry? You're not getting out of this again." Ron grumbled, annoyed that his friend would not be contributing to the house work again. Admittedly, Ron knew he had no room to talk, Hermione was after all the tidy one, but still - why should he have to wash up? Again. He wasn't some kind of servant. Harry turned around, an expression of amusement plastered on his face. Quickly, he tried to exchange it for one that was of pity.

"Ah, sorry Ron I can't. I'll make it up to you tomorrow, I promise." Ron considered this for a moment, his red hair shining in the light. Suddenly, his scowl was replaced with a look of delight.

"Does that promise include a bucket full of chicken wings?" he asked hopefully. Harry nodded with a laugh and Ron grinned, "Brilliant! Say hi to my dear sister for me."

Harry turned; the stars, just visible through the cloud-strewn sky, glistened brightly as the moon cast it's spotlight upon the trio, bathing them in a pool of sliver momentarily before he closed the door.

The house was suddenly hushed and Ron was painfully aware of Hermione standing so close behind him; this would be the first time in a while it would be just the two of them and Ron couldn't help but feel a little self-conscious as he turned and grabbed the sock from her grasp, trying to ignore the shiver running up his spine the brief contact of their finger tips had caused. He swallowed in an attempt to calm his nerves - why was he feeling so nervous for god sake? He had only been her best friend for years, after all. As always, Hermione rendered him bereft of speech. Ron quickly recalled the first time he experienced a sense of clarity, realising the full extent of his feelings towards her only after the event; at the school disco, with her hair in an elegant knot, wearing a beautiful flowing gown, she had looked absolutely beautiful. And then he'd noticed who had asked her. **Viktor Krum. **The best rugby player in the whole school, Hermione was not his usual type, and yet he had asked her and Ron had realised he was absolutely furious. Furious was in fact an understatement. It felt as if a beast had stirred inside him at the sight of the two dancing and, with Krums' hands around her waist, the beast had practically roared, rearing it's ferocious head causing Ron to snarl at anyone who had spoken to him that night.

At the time, Ron hadn't known he was in love with her. He had known he was angry, hell he had known he was **jealous** - but he hadn't known why until he lay in bed that night. With his hands behind his head, Ron had stared up at the ceiling as if the answer to what he was feeling would suddenly materialise in front of him. The vision of Hermione laughing with Krum consumed him. Trying to order his tangled thoughts into something coherent, something had finally leapt out amid all the rage he was feeling - love... Ron suddenly snapped back out his thoughts at that, remembering he was supposed to reply to Hermiones' annoyed remark.

"Hermione, you love us too much, you know, you wouldn't ever send us away. After one day you'd be crawling on your hands and knees, begging for us to take you back." His blue eyes sparkled as they latched onto hers and he watched as she couldn't help but grin. However, the grin soon faded for she remembered she was supposed to be annoyed. Walking back into the living room, arms crossed, she strived to maintain her stubborn mood but found it had quickly dissolved as soon as the front door had closed. It was the first time in a while herself and Ron would be alone; at the very thought, her heart skipped a beat with excitement. She struggled to concentrate on Rons' comment.

"Don't kid yourself, Ronald." She smiled as she suddenly remembered, "Aren't you supposed to be doing the dishes?" _For once,_ she thought. Ron grimaced, all thoughts of his feelings for Hermione presently pushed to the back of his mind.

"If only I could do magic." He sighed, "Well the dishes won't do themselves, I 'spose."

He reluctantly strode over to the sink and turned the tap on, filling the bowl up with fairy liquid as he went. Pulling his jumper off so he was just in his T-Shirt, he set to work scrubbing the dishes, the evenings spaghetti sauce still staining the plates. Perfect distraction. Well, almost perfect.

"It's good watching someone else clean for a change, now I know how your mum feels - oh you missed a spot, Ronald." Hermione teased, leaning up against the cupboards beside him. She began to observe the way his hands gently put pressure on the sponge to release the soap before scrubbing the plate in circular motions, the water droplets balancing on the edges as he placed them on the side. Hermione had coped with her strong feelings for Ron for years, but since he, Harry and herself had become flat mates, her feelings had increased to an extent that every time she was near him, she fought the mounting desire to feel his arms around her. She adored the way he was awkward yet funny, somewhat moody at times but the life and soul of their friendship. Yes he infuriated her to no end, but Hermione had finally admitted to herself that her anger was a defence mechanism replacing the hurt she would undoubtedly feel if she were to declared her feelings. "I could get used to this." She sighed, thankful it wasn't her plunging her hands into the bowl and scrubbing the plates.

"Hm, are you sure about that?" He asked, throwing a mischievous sideways glance at Hermione. Her eyes flew to his face with confusion.

"Wha-?" Before she could finish her sentence, he had scooped up some of the water and flicked it towards Hermione. She squealed as the bubbles nestled into her hair and Ron smugly turned his back with a "Ha!" He reached for the last plate that needed to be washed, but his hand froze as he suddenly heard Hermione's hand sink into the water. Turning, bracing himself, he came face to face with Hermione clutching bubbles in her small hands, her gaze fixed on him, a smile dancing on her lips. With her hair tumbling around her, and that trouble-maker glint in her eye she always adopted when she knew she was doing something wrong, Ron wasn't sure whether he wanted to run from the inevitable or take her in his arms and kiss her, wiping the smile off her lips as he swept her off of her feet..._Stop it Ron, you know you can't!_

"Hang on a bloody minute, Hermione... I- I think I had a right to blow bubbles in your face after that remark of yours-" Hermione stepped forward suddenly and Ron grabbed her wrists as she made to flick her hands forwards. Her spine tingled and she realised then she was in danger of forgetting her revenge completely; wrenching her hands back, without hesitation, she blew the bubbles in his face. There was a moments silence as she watched the bubbles settle into Rons hair satisfactorily, before reaching up and rubbing them in for good measure.

"There. We're even" She grinned, unlacing her fingers from his hair, a little later than necessary. Ron stood dazed for a moment, his heart pummelling against his chest at the sudden closeness. He struggled to find his voice, for Hermione had not stepped backwards. On the contrary she had moved even closer so she was an inch away, gazing up at him with those smouldering dark eyes. Her face was suddenly seriously and he could feel the warmth under the weight of her look. His whole body tingled as he imagined himself leaning forwards, closing the gap between them and feeling those soft, full lips against his - it didn't last long, however. She quickly moved away, tearing her gaze from him before grabbing the towel to dry the dishes.

"Hey, that's my job tonight." He started, taking the towel off of her, "Why don't you choose a DVD we can watch together?" He wanted to relish the time alone they had together, even if that was just watching a DVD.

"Okay, get set on the popcorn!" She smiled excitedly, "I know just the film." She turned to make her way back through in the living room but before she could;

"None of that romantic rubbish, you want to put something on that'll entertain me, too." Ron quickly averted his eyes from her backside as she turned around, and he was surprised to see a blush upon her cheeks. Damn, had he just been caught? That was the thing with Hermione, he had been in love with her for so long he sometimes forgot to act like just friends, and now he'd gone and got himself caught - brilliant! And yet her reply had nothing to do with his previously lustful stare, but left him shocked and practically gawping like a fish;

"Oh, don't worry, I'm perfectly capable of entertaining you, Ronald," she replied innocently.

And with that, she turned and walked into the living room...

**Hope you enjoyed, please review - Not 100% sure on this story so feedback would be brilliant, thankyou, and I am also debating whether to add another chapter! Hope everyone had a good Christmas and New Years.x**


	2. Chapter 2

**Decided to carry on, why not? (: Enjoy! So sorry for the wait, sixth form work was getting in the way aha. It's a little bit of fluff but hopefully it's pretty good too - the next chapter will advance from that (May do another chapter and I promise you, i will not take as long to post it) - My apologies, you will never have to wait this long again:P Thank you for reading, I hope you like it:**

Ron awoke the next morning with a rare smile on his face that was never usually visible before 10:30am. The warm sun blazed through his bedroom window as the heat washed over his body, eliciting a wave of relaxation. The smell of bacon caused his stomach to rumble and yet the stunning sunlight or the enticing scent was nothing in comparison to the memory of the night before. He and Hermione had hung out all night watching DVD's - it was the longest time he'd spent with her on his own and she had even kissed him on the cheek as she had said goodnight. However, his happiness was prevented somewhat by the nagging thought that persisted to crawl around in the corners of his mind, the thing she had said yesterday... His stomach rumbled loudly then, and he forgot all about his inner battle.

"Morning, 'Mione" Ron called brightly as he entered the little kitchen. Hermione wore a sky blue apron with her bushy hair tied into a pony tail. She stood over a saucepan frying bacon and humming to herself. Ron stared for a moment in wonder before snapping out of his trance-like state and grabbing some milk from the fridge.

"You're surprisingly cheerful. What's got into you, Ronald?" Hermione eyed him suspiciously as she forked bacon onto their plates. The smell was enough to make Rons mouth water and for a moment, he surreptitiously took his time in answering her question. He placed the milk back into the fridge carefully before moving towards the table.

Nervously sitting onto the wooden chair next to Hermione, Ron shifted ever so slightly closer so that their shoulders almost touched. As he glanced sideways at her, with his pulse roaring in his red-tipped ears, she forked some bacon into her mouth. She brushed her hair from her eyes as she did so, and he felt the urge to just run his fingers through her rare pony tail there and then. And yet, amongst all his tangled, incoherent thoughts, Ron managed to pull out just one amid the disarray that kept tumbling repeatedly around his mind: She had **flirted** with him. She had actually said, _"Oh, don't worry, I'm perfectly capable of entertaining you, Ronald"_ so innocently, but he had not missed the way she had swung those hips as she left for the living room. He was sure he wasn't just acting like a nutter, Hermione had never flirted with him like that. Ever. If only he could find his confidence to ask her...

With his throat suddenly feeling dry, he swallowed his bacon with a huge amount of effort. The taste cascaded over his tongue and he licked his lips with pleasure before realising Hermione was staring at him, one eye brow raised.

"Ok, am I not allowed to be happy?" He grumbled, wishing she'd drop it already; he was feeling slightly less cheerful now, knowing he'd have to ask her sooner or later. Still, he enjoyed replaying the memory in his mind.

"Of course you are," she frowned as she chewed her bacon, "But I want to know why you, of all people, are **smiling **in the morning, Ron." She paused, and almost hesitantly asked," Have you met someone?" Her voice was barely above a whisper, but Ron couldn't help but detect - with a twinge of delight - the jealous tone she was evidently trying to hide. Her brown eyes pierced through his almost as if she was trying to read his mind;

"Hermione, you know that I don't love anyone else, or that I never have eyes for anyone else.." He replied gruffly, trying to maintain his dignity but wishing with all the hope that he could muster that she would understand the hint underlying that one, simple little sentence. His bacon lay long forgotten and his heart thumped against his chest so fast, he felt as if he was sprinting across a race track. And then he was soaring; her eyes widened in shock and her hand flew to her mouth, had she understood the hint?

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" She gasped, leaning forwards into her chair and clasping her small hand in his. He could see the blush rising up her cheeks, the dazzling sparkle in her eyes.

"Damn it, are you really making me say this?... Isn't it obvious? I bloody love you, Hermione -" He held up his hand to silence her as she showed all signs of interrupting. "You don't have to say it back, I-" Pausing he slowly traced patterns with his index finger upon the back of her hand, enjoying the smoothness he could feel and being fully aware of his words sounding less than romantic, "I know you feel the same way about me, too. I think we've always known, but we've been too stupid to act on our feelings..." He stopped then, allowing his words to sink in. He hoped that his next actions would make up for the fact that he was useless at expressing himself;

Hermione grinned and she jumped up from her chair, flinging her arms around Rons' neck, dipping her head towards his and parting her lips. Ron felt dizzy and he couldn't quite believe that this was really happening, loving how Hermione initiated the kiss. He had intended to himself, however, he was far from complaining.

_This is it. _Ron thought -

Their lips finally met and something stirred in the pit of Rons' stomach, much more than just butterflies.


	3. Chapter 3

**Final chapter, reviews and favourites would be appreciated - thank you! Enjoy**! **(I promised it wouldn't take as long #Boom) :D This is almost more on to the M side of things, only read if you're into more 'mature' situations I suppose? I hope this chapter's ok!**

Their lips brush shyly.

Time momentarily stops.

Hearts beat concomitantly.

Breaths falter, all else forgotten.

Hermione broke apart then and Ron looked taken aback; he couldn't believe what they had just done, in what felt like a lifetime was just a split second of contact. He had been worrying so much for so long, wondering who else had stolen Hermione's heart, when all of this time she had felt the same way too. Woah...

_"What a bloody good first kiss that was!"_

"I love you too." Hermione whispered blushing ferociously as the corners of her mouth curved upwards radiantly.

"It's about bloody time," Ron chuckled, a new found happiness pumping through his veins. He curiously reached out to slowly smooth his thumb upon her bottom lip and the gesture was tender, causing Hermione's eyes to twinkle with delight. He longed for the feel of her lips again but, before he could however, Hermione suddenly leaned forwards.

Pressing her forehead against his, she softly replied, "I could say the same for you" and she bent her head before their lips touched once more.

All Ron could feel was the blazing sun upon his closed eye lids, the feel of Hermione's soft lips connecting with his returning his pressure, her taste intoxicating and the pounding of his heart in his ears. His stomach somersaulted as he wrapped his strong arms around her waist, having wanting to for a long time and - she ran her fingers up the length of his back - clutching her body to him, giving in to all the suppressed need he had felt over the years. Hermione pulled away, flushed and slightly breathing heavier. She couldn't stop smiling down at him.

"I'm going to have to take this dratted thing off; it keeps getting in the way." Her fingers fumbled at the knot of her apron, but Ron scraped his chair back and stood up slowly, standing close as he stared at her intensely. He breathed;

"Pitty, I thought it looked quite cute." His red-tipped ears gave away his nervousness, but the way he gently untied the knot, the low note of his voice, portrayed a new found confidence that Hermione instantly found endearing, goosebumps erupting on her skin. He lifted the apron up over her head and Ron couldn't help but instantly wish she would prove her flirtatious comment of entertaining him before...

_"Calm down!" _He scolded himself; he loved Hermione and he did not want to scare her away already. He wanted to be romantic and make use of the time they had together before Harry came back.

"I'll bare that in mind for future references." She grinned and ran her fingers through his red hair slowly, her eyes locking onto his, captivating his heart. He had to remember to breathe then and had never felt happier with the feel of her fingers tangling into his hair. His eyelids fluttered closed with a smile playing upon his lips. All the awkwardness he had felt suddenly diminished and was replaced with an undeniable, overwhelming sense of desire and love. He opened his eyes contentedly.

"You're beautiful, I can't believe I didn't tell you how i felt before... Especially seeing how you just reacted." Laughing, he instinctively pushed her fly-away hair from her face - the strands that had escaped from her hair tie. She beamed, reaching up and pulling out her hair band that was already half away out. With her brown hair framing her flushed face, her lips parting in anticipation, Ron didn't even have to wait for Hermione to kiss him first this time - he bent down swiftly and locked his lips with hers, his body responding to her caressing fingers; they curled into his pajama shirt at the base of his back as she deepened the kiss. Her tongue traced the line of his bottom lip causing an electricity to spark through their bodies as a small, deep groan escaped from the back of Rons' throat. He was in utter disbelief that his Hermione - the brightest girl of her age - could actually act this way. Hermione suddenly felt her body tingling with surprise at the sound she herself had caused him, she felt elated.

An urgency replaced all coherent thought then, dismissing anything from his mind but his desperation. Ron kissed her with such force that without even thinking, he scooped her up into his arms effortlessly and she automatically wrapped her legs around his waist with excitement - he felt dizzy with the sensation. She kissed him back, mirroring his thirst entirely. Lifting her onto the unit, Ron leaned forwards and grabbed her thighs, pushing hard against her. Their was nothing Hermione couldn't feel as Ron closed the remaining centimetres between them by pushing his chest against her, his lips feverishly parting hers. Through the kiss, she could feel all the relief and love that he had been holding back and she had to admit, it had caught her slightly off guard. He released her lips and, at first hesitantly, kissed down her jawline to her neck. Feeling more confident, he proceeded to suck the side of her neck softly, creating little circles with his tongue. She tilted her head back in submission and whimpered as his hand cupped the side of her neck, his thumb roaming the length to her collarbone. His other arm encircled her waist, pushing her further towards him. He moved to her ear then, softly taking the lobe between his teeth, releasing before swiftly capturing it and working his way towards her shoulder. She groaned, whispering how she loved him and he felt her hips rise slightly against him. He suddenly felt a jolt between his legs and sharply broke away, dropping his hands to either side of her legs so they rested upon the worktop, his jaw locked and his eyes fixed upon a spot to the side of her head.

"Ron?" Hermione asked, reaching for his hand with confusion. She was utterly bewildered, but most of all, she was very disappointed as to why he had stopped when things were just getting heated. She wanted him to carry on. Quite frankly, she needed him to carry on. And still, Ron was not looking at her and Hermione noted how his chest heaved. She ran her fingers under his shirt across his broad chest with encouragement and he shivered.

"Stop." One word and that was all it took for Hermione's heart to shatter into a thousand pieces - had he changed his mind? Had she done something wrong? She was sure he could hear her stuttering, broken heart. Ron looked up through his lashes with eyes full of such an amount of hunger that Hermione knew it must be something else troubling him...

"I- I don't want to carry on because..." His voice broke away, as if embarrassed and he took a deep breath before carrying on, ignoring how his whole body was aching for her, "I'm afraid I'll want to do something I'll regret." He blushed, but he still hadn't moved away from her. He cleared his throat awkwardly.

"I think it's a little late for that, don't you, Ronald?" She teased. However, Hermione was touched at his gesture and wanted to reassure him. She grabbed his chin, "Oh, that really is cute, Ronald... But I **want** you to get carried away." She no longer felt her shy Hermione-ish self, wanting to feel Ron as much as he was wanting to feel her, and without another word, she crushed her lips to his. Ron forgot all about his resolve then as he melted into her once more...


End file.
